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Tesla pickup truck could be ready for a summer unveiling, says Elon Musk

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6 years ago

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During the company’s Q4 2018 earnings call, Elon Musk provided an update on the Tesla pickup truck’s reveal date. While addressing some of the questions submitted by retail investors, Musk noted that the Tesla Truck might be ready to be unveiled this coming summer. Echoing his previous statements about the vehicle, the CEO once more highlighted that the truck would be quite different from those in the market today.

“(As for the) Tesla pickup truck, we might be ready to unveil that this summer. It will be quite unique — unlike anything in the market,” Musk said.

The pickup truck industry is a large, potentially lucrative market for Tesla, especially considering that the segment is home to the United States’ best-selling vehicle — the Ford F-150. With this in mind, the pickup truck segment is ripe for electric disruption, and it is a market that electric car makers and even legacy automakers are looking to tap into. Electric car startup Rivian, for one, has taken the wraps off the R1T luxury pickup truck. Veteran carmaker Ford, on the other hand, has announced that the beloved F-150 would have an all-electric option in the near future as well.

In a way, the pickup truck market fits perfectly with the characteristics of electric vehicles. EVs, for one, have immense torque, which would be useful for hauling cargo — a task usually undertaken by pickup trucks. This is something that Rivian has focused on with its R1T pickup, with CEO RJ Scaringe stating in a recent interview that the luxury truck could actually tow far beyond its listed capacity of 11,00 pounds. Elon Musk, for his part, lightly noted on Twitter that the Tesla pickup truck would have a towing capacity of 300,000 pounds.

While very little is actually known about the Tesla pickup truck, Elon Musk has gone on Twitter last year to brainstorm some of the vehicle’s possible features. Musk responded positively to several suggestions from his followers, though he did note that the truck would have four-wheel steering, the capability to park itself, seating for six people, and a 240-volt connection for power tools.

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Musk has been pretty transparent about his excitement for the vehicle. During his guest appearance at the Recode Decode podcast, Musk noted that among Tesla’s future projects, he is most excited for the pickup truck, which he describes as a “super futuristic” vehicle that would not look out of place in the Blade Runner franchise. Musk even noted that he is really unsure if the vehicle will be successful, but if it does not get well-received by the market, Tesla would be releasing a more conventional pickup truck.

“I can’t talk about the details, but it’s gonna be like a really futuristic like cyberpunk, Blade Runner pickup truck. You know, I actually don’t know if a lot of people will buy this pickup truck or not, but I don’t care. I mean I do care, eventually, you know. Like sure, I care. We wanna get gasoline, diesel pickup trucks off the road. So, anyway, that’s personally I’m most excited about. But like I said, it could be just like, okay, I weirdly like it and other people don’t. That’s possible. But we’re gonna make it anyway, and then we will just have a niche audience, I don’t know. But if it does, then we’ll make a more conventional pickup truck,” Musk said. 

Musk later noted in the podcast that he is already iterating designs for the Tesla Truck with Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen. Ultimately, Musk hopes that the vehicle would be something that people would want to buy, even if they are not into pickup trucks. If Elon Musk’s estimates in the recently held earnings call are any indication, it might not take too long before the company to take the wraps off its latest and possibly most ambitious vehicle yet.

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Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla’s Robotaxi expansion wasn’t a joke, it was a warning to competitors

Tesla might have made a joke with its first Robotaxi service area expansion, but it was truly a serious warning to its competitors.

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July 14, 2025

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Tesla’s Robotaxi expansion occurred for the first time on Monday, and while the shape of its new service area might be “cocky,” it surely is not a joke. It’s a warning to competitors.

Robotaxi skeptics and Tesla opponents are sitting around throwing hate toward the company’s expansion appearance. Some called it “unserious,” and others say it’s “immature.” The reality is that it has a real meaning that goes much further than the company’s lighthearted and comical attitude toward things.

For context, Tesla has routinely used the number 69 as a way to price things it sells. 420 is another, an ode to cannabis culture. A few years back, it actually priced its Model S flagship sedan at $69,420. The first rides of the Robotaxi fleet were priced at $4.20. They are now being increased to $6.90.

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Some call it childish. Others call it fun. The truth is, nobody is doing it this way.

Tesla updates Robotaxi app with several big changes, including wider service area

But today’s expansion of the Robotaxi service area in Austin is different. Tesla did not expand its shape to different neighborhoods or areas of the City of Austin. It did not expand it by broadening the rectangle that was initially available. Instead, it chose a different strategy, simply because it could:

Tesla could have done anything. It could have expanded in any direction, in any way, but it chose this simply because it has gotten Robotaxi to the point that it can broaden its service area in any direction. It chose this shape because it could.

Other companies might not have the same ability. Of course, many companies probably would not do this even if it could, simply because of the optics. Tesla doesn’t have those concerns; it has been open about its ability to be funny, and yes, immature, at times.

But in reality, it was a stark warning to competitors. “We can go anywhere in Austin, at any time, and we’re confident enough to make a joke about it.”

Tesla’s Robotaxi geofence in Austin grows, and its shape is hard to ignore

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As Tesla is already aiming to expand to new states and high-population areas, and with applications filed in Arizona and California, Robotaxi will be in new regions in the coming weeks or months.

For now, it remains in Austin, and Tesla is sending a message to other companies that it is ready to go in any direction. The driverless Robotaxi fleet, bolstered by billions of miles of data, is ready to roam without anyone at the wheel.

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Tesla Robotaxi has already surpassed Waymo in this key metric

Tesla Robotaxi has already overtaken Waymo in Austin in one key metric, but there’s still more work to do.

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6 hours ago

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July 14, 2025

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Credit: @HanChulYong/X

Tesla Robotaxi has already surpassed Waymo in one extremely important key metric: size of service area.

Tesla just expanded its service area in Austin on Monday morning, pushing the boundaries of its Robotaxi fleet in an interesting fashion with new capabilities to the north. Yes, we know what it looks like:

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The expansion doubled Tesla Robotaxi’s potential travel locations, which now include the University of Texas at Austin, a school with over 53,000 students.

The doubling of the service area by Tesla has already made its travel area larger than Waymo’s, which launched driverless rides in October 2024. It became available to the public in March 2025.

According to Grok, the AI agent on X, Tesla Robotaxi’s current service area spans 42 square miles, which is five square miles larger than Waymo’s service area of 37 square miles.

The service area is one of the most important metrics in determining how much progress a self-driving ride-hailing service is making. Safety is the priority of any company operating a ride-hailing network, especially ones that are making it a point to use autonomy to deploy it.

However, these companies are essentially racing for a larger piece of the city or cities they are in. Waymo has expanded to several different regions around the United States, including Arizona and Los Angeles.

Tesla is attempting to do the same in the coming months as it has already filed paperwork in both California and Arizona to deploy its Robotaxi fleet in states across the U.S.

As the platform continues to show more prowess and accuracy in its operation, Tesla will begin to expand to new areas, eventually aiming for a global rollout of its self-driving service.

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Tesla Megapacks arrive for massive battery replacing coal plant

Tesla Megapacks have started arriving on-site to the Stanwell Battery Project, just as Queensland prepares to wind down the Stanwell coal plant.

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7 hours ago

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July 14, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

The first of over 300 Tesla Megapacks have arrived to the site of a massive battery energy storage system (BESS) being built in Australia, dubbed the Stanwell Battery Project after a coal plant it’s set to replace.

In a press release last week, the Stanwell Battery Project announced that the first Tesla Megapack 2XL units had arrived to the site, which is located outside of Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia. The project will eventually feature 324 Megapack units, set to arrive in the coming months, in order to support the 300MW/1,200MWh battery project.

“The Stanwell Battery is part of the diversification of our portfolio, to include cleaner and more flexible energy solutions,” said Angie Zahra, Stanwell Central Generation General Manager. “It is just one part of the 800 MW of battery energy storage capacity we have in our pipeline.

“Capable of discharging 300 MW of energy for up to four hours (1,200 MWh), our mega battery will be one of the largest in Queensland.”

Credit: Stanwell

READ MORE ON TESLA MEGAPACKS: Tesla Lathrop Megafactory celebrates massive Megapack battery milestone

The state is working with government-owned company Yurika to facilitate construction, and the process is expected to create roughly 80 jobs. The project is expected to come fully online in May 2027, with initial commissioning of the Megapacks aiming for November 2025.

The Stanwell Battery is set to replace the nearby Stanwell coal generation plant, which the government is planning to wind down starting in 2026 as part of efforts to reach an 80 percent renewable energy generation ratio by 2035. Meanwhile, the government is also set to begin winding down the Tarong and Callide coal plants, while several other Megapack projects are being built or coming online. o ya

Tesla currently has two Megapack production facilities, located in Lathrop, California, in the U.S. and another that came online earlier this year in Shanghai, China. The Shanghai Megafactory shipped its first units to Australia in March, while both factories are expected to be capable of producing 10,000 Megapack units per year upon reaching volume production.

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xAI receives more Tesla Megapacks for Colossus 2

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